Highlights

Description of Canadian Rockies hiking holiday

This two week Canadian Rockies hiking holiday is all about getting out into those big, beautiful landscapes that Canada is famous for, hiking, camping, wildlife watching and then doing it all again the next day. It’s a big country, so as well as having nine walks of varying levels, although all of a moderate to challenging level (these are the Rockies after all), we also take private vehicle transfers from one beautiful spot to another.

Most of the beauty spots where we walk are protected national parks, the most famous being Banff and Jasper, both in Alberta and both boasting mountain marvels with glaciers, gorgeous lakes such as Lake Louise, endless valleys to hike in and peaks to conquer. Yoho National Park is not as well known, but given that its name means 'magnificent' in the Cree Indian language, this is a good way to sum up its stunning Takakkaw Falls, Daly Glacier and Yoho River.

Waterton NP is another of the lesser known parks, and yet there is never anything ‘less’ about Canada, as you will discover on this hiking holiday. Described as the land where the prairie meets the mountains, it is hiking heaven as we journey through red canyons dotted with caves one minute and glistening sapphire lakes the next.

Walking for nine days between 5-16km per day, although we are in the Rockies, we do follow low altitude paths, on average at 2000m with a maximum of 2689m and there will be some steep ascents. We camp along the way and so travellers are asked to be willing to erect and dismantle their own tents, help with meals and clearing up. But being out in the wilds really is the best way to enjoy hiking in Canada’s great wild spaces of the Rockies.

Travel Team

If you'd like to chat about this holiday or need help finding one we're very happy to help. The Travel Team.

Small group holiday

Small group travel is not large group travel scaled down. It is modelled on independent travel – but with the advantage of a group leader to take care of the itinerary, accommodation and tickets, and dealing with the language. It’s easy to tick off the big sights independently – but finding those one-off experiences, local festivals, travelling markets and secret viewpoints is almost impossible for someone without the insider knowledge gained from years in the field. If you’re heading off on a gap year your, perhaps – but for those with a two-week holiday, a small group tour will save valuable planning time.

The leaders are not guides – they’re not there to shepherd you around. Instead, they’ll let you know which local restaurant serves great value food – without running the risk of travellers’ tummy. They’ll allow you to avoid hour-long queues at train stations and attractions.

We like to think of small group travel as the Goldilocks option. It is independent travel without the fuss, worry and bunk beds – and organised travel without the coaches. And it’s cheaper than a tailor made tour. It’s sits somewhere in the middle – and we think it’s just about right.

What are the main benefits?

Big experiences
Have big, life-enriching experiences that would be impossible to organise without lots of time and insider knowledge.

Simplicity
Make the most of your holiday time by letting someone else do the hard work and boring logistics!

Peace of mind
Small group tours take care of the security aspects – and provide a safety net should anything unexpected happen.

Who is it ideal for?

Travellers who are short of time
If you don’t have three months to spend exploring, small groups trips let you cover more ground in less time. Your days are not spent queuing for tickets or finding hotels – so you can squeeze more into your holiday.

Solo travellers who’d like company
Likeminded travel companions plus peace of mind for those travelling alone. Single supplements are usually available – providing privacy if you want it.

Less confident travellers
Stray from the tourist trail without worrying about getting lost, and meet local people without dealing with the language barrier.

Mythbuster

“I won’t get any privacy!”
Couples and friends have private rooms, and you can choose to eat alone or not. Single supplements give solo travellers their own room.

“There won’t be any free time”
Free mornings or afternoons let you explore on your own, or just relax.

“The accommodation will be basic”Trips are as high or low end as you like. Though off the beaten track destinations won’t have luxury hotels, this is all part of the adventure.

“I won’t like the other travellers!”
Tour operators try to create groups with a similar demographic – age, families, activity levels... Chances are, you’ll even make new friends.

“Will we be following an umbrella?”
No.

Meet a group Leader

Name: Valerie Parkinson

Story: The first British woman to climb Manaslu, Valerie climbed Everest for her 50th birthday. She’s spent fourteen Christmas Days trekking to Everest Base Camp, and is involved insetting up Responsible Tourism initiatives in the Himalayas.

Meet a local guide

Name: Roshan Fernando

Story: Roshan has led over 130 trips – he adores showing travellers around Sri Lanka. He won the company Leader Award in 2010, but his career highlight was working on their Tsunami Project – which earned him a responsible tourism award.

Responsible tourism

Responsible tourism: Canadian Rockies hiking holiday

UK office It all starts at home so we have first worked at reducing our carbon footprint in our UK offices. Through energy conservation measures and recycling policies in place, we are proud to be actively reducing the waste produced and our impact on the environment. We support various projects all over the world to try and give something back to the places we visit.

Leaders & local suppliersWe have an excellent long-term relationship with the local operator who employ and train all leaders. We provide refresher training with a focus on Responsible Tourism, so our local leaders can educate our clients locally on helping to preserve the way of life in their area.

When hiking we stick to marked trails to reduce our impact on the local environment and we camp in the designated grounds regulated by each National Park. At campgrounds (and throughout the trip) we employ a ‘leave no trace’ policy in regard to litter - everything taken into the park is taken out to preserve the local environment. We recycle wherever possible on the trip and all leaders are trained in responsible tourism to enable them to follow best practice and enforce our ‘leave no trace’ policy. Local shuttle services are used for transportation within the parks.

Group sizeWe operate small group tours that have a low impact on the communities we visit and we always ensure our operations do not disrupt or lead to the displacement of local people. This allows us to stay in unique and characterful accommodation that would not have benefitted from tourism due to their limited size. The maximum group size on this trip is restricted to 12 clients which reduces further the environmental impacts of visiting remote areas.

ActivityFew holidays have as little detrimental impact on the environment and local residents as a walking trip. It is a quiet, low impact activity requiring comparatively little resources to support. Erosion on and adjacent to popular paths is a growing problem and our trip leaders encourage clients not to stray from paths to minimise this.